ABSTRACT
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) would normally be more powerful than a state law, but if a state law about health professionals communicating with the public sets a higher standard of protection for the public than HIPAA, the art therapist must follow the state law. Many forms of giving information and seeking consent occur in private practice, and many of them are enfolded within the contract. The HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule specifies that if a health care provider informs the client of the risks of sending protected health information by unsecured email, and the client wants to receive the information by email, he or she can give consent to receive normal, unsecured emails from their psychotherapist. Some clients readily accept the therapist’s late cancellation policy, volunteering the late payment fee without hesitation, while other clients persist in “forgetting” the fee even after the therapist and client have talked through one late cancellation.
